Pleasure boat licensing

Licences for pleasure boats offered for hire to the public on Ullswater carrying 12 or fewer passengers (for example: rowing boats, dinghies, canoes, sailboards, paddleboards) and boat operator licences are issued by the Licensing Team at Town Hall. All boats are subject to an inspection by our approved inspector prior to being licensed.

Boat operator licences

A boat operator licence is required by any business in the charge or navigation of pleasure boats and vessels to be let for hire or to be used for carrying passengers for hire on Ullswater.

The Council issues two types of boat operator licence, namely:

Full boat operator's licence - issued to businesses assisting in the charge and navigation of pleasure boats and vessels to be let for hire or used to carry passengers for hire on Ullswater.

Restricted boat operator's licence - issued to businesses assisting in the charge of pleasure boats and vessels to be let for hire. This type of licence does not cover the navigation of pleasure boats and vessels to be used for carrying passengers for hire and is intended for those persons hiring and operating the pleasure boats and vessels from the shore or pier only.

Review of conditions

The Council carried out a review of the existing pleasure boat and boat operator conditions and the revised conditions were approved by the Licensing Committee on 7 February 2018. The updated conditions, together with the application forms, are available below.